The song Vande
Mataram, composed in Sanskrit by Bankimchandra Chatterji, was a source
of inspiration to the people in their struggle for freedom. It has an
equal status with Jana-gana-mana. The first political occasion when it
was sung was the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress. The song first appeared in his book
''Anandamatha'', published in 1882 amid fears of a ban by the British Raj, though the song itself was actually written six years prior in
1876.

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"Vande Mataram" was the national cry for freedom from British oppression during the freedom movement. Large rallies, fermenting initially in
West Bengal, in the major metropolis of Calcutta, would work themselves up into a patriotic fever by shouting the slogan "Vande Mataram," or "Hail to the Mother(land)!". The British, fearful of the potential danger of an incited Indian populace, at one point banned the utterance of the motto in public forums and jailed many freedom fighters for disobeying the proscription. To this day, "Vande Mataram" is seen as a national
mantra describing the love of patriots for the country of India.

While Vande Mataram was treated as the
national anthem of India for long, ultimately Jana Gana Mana, was chosen as the
national anthem of independent India. The choice was slightly controversial, since the Vande Mataram was the one song that truly depicted the pre-independence national fervour. The song was rejected on the grounds that
Muslims felt offended by its depiction of the nation as "Ma Durga",
a Hindu goddess; thus equating the nation with the Hindu conception of
shakti, divine feminine dynamic force; and by its origin as part of ''Anandamatha'', a novel they felt had an
anti-Muslim message.

Dr Rajendra
Prasad, who was presiding the Constituent Assembly on January 24 1950, made the following statement which was also adopted as the final decision on the issue:

''The composition consisting of words and music known as Jana Gana Mana is the National Anthem of India, subject to such alterations as the Government may
authorize as occasion arises, and the song Vande Mataram, which has played a historic part in the struggle for Indian freedom, shall be honored equally with Jana Gana Mana and shall have equal status with it. I hope this will satisfy members.''

The English
translation of the stanza rendered by Sri Aurobindo in prose 1 is :

I
bow to thee, Mother,
richly-watered, richly-fruited,
cool with the winds of the south,
dark with the crops of the harvests,
The Mother!
Her nights rejoicing in the glory of the moonlight,
her lands clothed beautifully with her trees in flowering bloom,
sweet of laughter, sweet of speech,
The Mother, giver of boons, giver of bliss.